In little more than a year Hughess ravenous buying had made him the largest private employer, the largest landowner, and the most powerful individual in the state of Nevada. He also bought most of the land on the Vegas strip, a local television station, two airports, a golf course, and extensive mining claims. Hughes began a $100 million buying spree including casinos such as the Castaways, the Frontier, the Landmark, the Sands, the Silver Slipper and the the Harolds Club Casino in Reno. Hughes predicted that the city of less than 100,000 people would someday be a thriving American metropolis.

The visionary businessman immediately saw the citys potential, while at the time it was little more than a desert town with a string of casinos, Hughes recognized that Las Vegas could become a major city.

He had just sold his stock in TWA airlines and collected the largest check ever written: $546 million. During his lifetime he had made films, set world records, designed aircraft, and created new industries. The guest was Howard Hughes and he was ailing in body and mind he was frightened and looking for a place to hide.Īlthough he had not been seen publically in over 10 years he was still world famous.

On Thanksgiving Day 1966 the Desert Inn Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada reserved its entire top floor to a well known but never seen guest, and the Vegas strip, and the city of Las Vegas would never be the same.

Nevada casino monopoly ended